Now that you've seen what everyone's been talking about, here are a few season premiere reactions from the show's new boss Glen Mazzara and executive producers Gale Anne Hurd, Robert Kirkman and Dave Alpert.

I was lucky enough to screen the premiere episode of 'The Walking Dead' Season 2 today, and the first words out of my mouth when it ended pretty much say it all: holy sh*t.

Now I was one of the ones on the fence about this show after its way too short first season, and I know a lot of fans are worried about the series being in new hands since Frank Darabont passed the showrunning torch off to Glen Mazzara.

But after seeing the 90-minute premiere (Sun., Oct. 16, 9PM ET on AMC), I can safely say that we can all stop worrying. This is non-stop, edge-of-your-seat, pulse-pounding zombie action and suspense at its best. Now they just have to keep that up for the second season's full 13-episode order ... no biggie.

I caught up with Mazzara and fellow executive producers Gayle Anne Hurd, Robert Kirkman and Dave Alpert to find out more about Season 2's drama, the introduction of new characters Herschel and Maggie, Andrea's eventual evolution and giving back to the fans. Keep reading for more ...

AMC released a statement Thursday commenting on the news (UPDATE: see comment from AMC vice president of original programming Joel Stillerman below):

"'The Walking Dead''s Glen Mazzara, writer and executive producer, is expanding his responsibilities to assume the role of showrunner. AMC is grateful to executive producer, writer and pilot director Frank Darabont whose contributions to the success of 'The Walking Dead' are innumerable.

Darabont, known for his feature film work, served as director, executive producer and showrunner during the first season of the hit AMC series. News recently broke that Darabont left his post as showrunner and there's no word on what role -- if any -- he will have with the show.

Mazzara, whose credits include 'The Shield' and 'Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior,' was hired as executive producer for Season 2.

This season of fall TV has been applauded for being diverse, but actress/writer Diane Farr is aiming to step it up even more with a new drama about interracial couples at Fox. The network also has a medical drama from Peter Tolan in the works.

According to Deadline Hollywood, Farr, of 'Numb3rs' and 'Rescue Me' fame, will write and produce the project which follows several interracial couples from the South in a post-Obama America.

The project is based on her semi-autobiographical book 'You Can't Love One of Them,' and Farr developed the TV characters after tracking couples across America for several years. Farr's husband is of Korean decent.

Starz, the cable network, is getting into original production and their first project will be based on the 2005 Best Picture Oscar-winning film Crash. Glen Mazzara, whose credits include Life, The Shield, Stand-Off and Nash Bridges, has been named executive producer/showrunner for the drama series. Lionsgate TV will co-produce with Starz, and they've greenlighted 13 episodes.

The controversial film, which dealt with the intersecting lives of a myriad of people living in Los Angeles in just 48 hours, centers on the character of Detective Graham Waters. Waters, a police detective, is struggling with his career, his drug addict mother and a criminal brother. The role was played by Don Cheadle (Picket Fences), who was also one of the film's producers. He is expected to reprise the part in the Starz production and may even direct a few episodes. In addition, director/co-writer/producer Paul Haggis and others from the film are also on board for Starz.